I think and think; yet still I fail -- Why does this lady wear a veil? Why thus elect to mask her face Beneath that dainty web of lace? The tip of a small nose I see, And two red lips, set curiously Like twin-born cherries on one stem, And yet she has netted even them. Her eyes, it's plain, survey with ease All that to glance upon they please. Yet, whether hazel, grey, or blue, Or that even lovelier lilac hue, I cannot guess: why -- why deny Such beauty to the passer-by? Out of a bush a nightingale May expound his song; beneath that veil A happy mouth no doubt can make English sound sweeter for its sake. But then, why muffle in, like this, What every blossomy wind would kiss? Why in that little night disguise A daylight face, those starry eyes? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE OLD BRIDGE AT FLORENCE; SONNET by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE BELLS OF YOUTH by WILLIAM SHARP THE LANDLADY'S DAUGHTER by JOHANN LUDWIG UHLAND NO CONTINUING CITY by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN CORYDON'S SUPPLICATION TO PHILLIS by NICHOLAS BRETON THE BRIDEGROOM TO HIS BRIDE by MARY ANN BROWNE |